In Class Lab: What's really being said and how?

~What arguments does the author make?

• The argument that white people and people of color who are not black should not use the n-word
• The argument that there are two separate conversations by black people and white people and as white people, we should not have anything to do with the conversation that black people are having about the n-word.
• The author argues for a clear position against the usage of the n-word by any group of people who are not black.
• The argument is not ambiguous or long enough to call for an in depth analysis. The author is extremely straightforward in his reasoning but he does use personal anecdotes as justification and evidence for his argument.
• The author makes the argument that even beyond use of the n-word, terms such as “redneck” or any possibly racist slur shouldn’t be used by people outside of the “family.”

~How persuasive do you find the argument?

• I think the argument is quite persuasive because it is very open, and only really displays facts and the author's opinion. The author is trying to persuade you that he is right, and he backs up his own personal opinions with facts and ideals that are current to the argument of racism.
• The speech is void of any exact sources or links because of it being an oral presentation. Though the speaker himself is quite credible due to his extensive background in anti-racist writings and speeches since 1995. He also has been updating teachers about how to teach kids un-racist and anti-racist topics.
• The argument is persuasive because he backs up his opinion well through facts and widely accepted ideas that cannot really be challenged without the challenger being considered “racist”.

~What is the author’s stance?

• The author objectively describes how the use of the n-word should be only be used by colored people in contrast to a white person because otherwise it would be considered racist.

~Does the publisher bring a certain stance to the work?

• In this case, there was not a publisher attached to the work. However, the argument was originally published in a book by the author, “White Like Me”. When just discussing the video, we have no publisher to consider. If we turn our focus to the book, we may find a stance that was brought by the publisher.
• If you consider YouTube the publisher, the author had the ability to turn off comments (which he did), and that itself brought a support to racism and their claim, because since it is the internet it is guaranteed someone would have started a debate and been racist in the comments.

~Do you recognize ideas you’ve run across in other sources?

• Technically not a source, but in my everyday life I have found this controversy a lot, from music the word is used in, to improper use. For me personally (Chloe), I have always had an issue with the idea of “I’m from ___ race, I can make fun of them!” and I think that this source helped better define this idea in a non-racist way.

~Does this source support or challenge your own position -- or does it do both? EVERYONE SHOULD ANSWER

• Chloe: This source supports my position and makes me believe even more strongly in how people should not use racial slurs such as the n-word. However, the idea that people can depreciate their own people groups is an interesting way to state that, because before this source I didn’t agree with it (as mentioned in the last question).
• Jacob: This source definitely supports my position. Right before viewing the video I knew the n-word was inappropriate to use in my vocabulary, and by watching the video it furthered my knowledge on why it’s wrong. It showed a unique perspective on how the word should only be used in its own color group, but even then it still seems like it dehumanizes the value of a given people.
• Riley: This source supports my position. I agree with the arguments being made by Tim Wise in that the use of the n-word by white people like myself and other non-black people of color is inherently racist because of the historical context behind it. As a people, whites have used the word to continually dehumanize black people, whether it is through slavery, micro/macro aggressions, or even large scale institutionalized racism.
• Corben: This speech supports my own personal opinions on racism. I believe that white people don’t have the “rights” to the n-word and trying to make it okay to use in “politically correct” context is not something good to do. Just leaving the n-word to colored people to use how how they see fit is the best option, we as white people used and abused the word and now we should have no say in the matter.

~What can you tell about how the intended audience and purpose?

• As a white person this spoke to me on high levels. The purpose of the video was to inform the audience that the use of the n-word is not funny business, or cute, but in fact a still modern racially charged term that shouldn’t be used by white people.